UNLV honors 1977 Runnin’ Rebels at first conference game

Forty years after a 29-3 record and a trip to the Final Four in Atlanta, the UNLV campus and the Rebellion student section welcomed back some familiar faces.

At halftime of UNLV’s first conference game Saturday against Boise State, which ended in a 83-74 loss, members of the 1976-77 Runnin’ Rebels basketball team took center stage.

One of them was former 6-foot-4 shooting guard Sam Smith, who averaged 14.8 points per game that season and also was one of six Rebels that averaged double figures that year.

“I think this team means a lot to Las Vegas, we were the first team that really got things started,” Smith said. “We’ve had some pretty good teams, like that’s a pretty good team out there now.…